SalMar only received only half of “Smart Fish Farm” licences, but will not appeal rejection

Salmon farmer is prepared to proceed with the project, if they can agree with authorities on further conditions for new licenses.

SalMar and its subsidiary MariCulture have decided not to appeal to the Fisheries Directorate’s partial rejection of the application for 16 development licenses to develop “Smart Fish Farm”. The plant is designed to be anchored in the sea off the coast of central Norway.

If the companies come to an agreement with government about the eight licenses and the conditions surrounding those, then they are willing to proceed with the project.

Will prioritise sea strategy
SalMar justifies this decision with the desire to put every effort into realising the company’s marine strategy. For SalMar, a possible realization of a deepwater farm will be a crucial breakthrough for this strategy. According to the company, this is a strategy that is important for Norway and the Norwegian aquaculture industry, in a time of scarcity of sustainable areas in coastal areas and a stronger competition from, among other things, land-based farming that can be established worldwide.

“If SalMar succeeds in its marine strategy, huge seas will open up for environmentally sustainable farming. In this way, Norway can retain and strengthen its position as the world’s leading producer of Atlantic salmon in a long-term perspective,” the company wrote in a press release.

EUR 155 billion
Investment costs for “Smart Fish Farm” are currently estimated to be EUR 155 billion. The specially designed deepwater farm could be established in high energy areas, 20-30 nautical miles off Norwegian coastlines. The new deepwater structure will be developed in close cooperation with experts.

The deepwater farm will be take twice as much fish as “Ocean Farm” and has the capacity to produce three million salmon distributed at its eight production rooms. It will be around seven meters high and with a diameter of about 160 meters. It will be equipped with a closed, load-bearing center tower, which will be the plant’s control unit and research laboratory.

In addition, the tower – which will also make it as big as world’s largest salmon processing plant – will make it possible to treat fish against lice and disease in closed systems, SalMar stated. The aim is to reconcile the best properties of open and closed farms in one and the same unit. There will be requirements for safety in line with the oil industry’s offshore platforms.